American Social Realism1930-1960

Amanda and Shannon

Inspiration

• The French Social Realism movement occurred in the mid-1800s

• Adopted by America in early 1900s• Reaction from:

– The Great Depression– The New Deal– The Industrial Revolution– Civil Rights Movement– WWI

How It Started• Ashcan School

– 5 painters that began the Social Realism movement

– Common scenes in rough city life

– Inspired other artists and helped create the movement

“Snow In New York”

Robert Henri 1902

How It Started

• Stemmed from – American Scene– American Gothic– Regionalism art

American Scene VS Social Realism

“Migrant Mother” Dorthea Lange 1936

American Gothic VS Social Realism

“American Gothic” Grant Wood 1930 “Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco” Ben Shahn 1931-1932

American Regionalism Vs. Social Realism

Will Barnet “Labor Workers”Grant Wood "Appraisal"

Previous Movements• Rebelled against

anything visually appealing or emotionally pleasing

• Particularly disagreed with Idealism and Romanticism

“Wanderer Above Sea of Fog” Caspar David Friedrich 1818

What It Means

• Statement about:–Everyday routines and conditions–Social issues

• Working class and the poor–Racial/political injustices

• War, prohibition, civil rights movement

Ben Shahn (1898-1969)

• Inspiration– Evolved separately from the Ashcan

painters– Religion– Growing up a poor, ethnic minority– World War I– Civil Rights Movement– Sacco and Vanzetti trial

Ben Shahn

• Style/Technique– Duo-tones– Scattering of focus/movement– Moment in time– Attachment/detachment – Elongated bodies and faces– Symbolism, color, and line

What It Means

Ben Shahn, "Scotts Run, West Virginia."

“Handball” Ben Shahn 1939

“J. Robert Oppenheimer” Ben Shahn 1904-1967

“Parade for Repeal” Ben Shahn 1933

Ben Shahn

• Paintings

• Posters

• Murals

• Graphic Arts

• Advertisements

• Photographs

“For All These Fights We’ve Just Begun to Fight” Ben Shan 1946

Ben Shahn

• “We are living in a time when civilization has become highly expert in the art of destroying human beings and increasingly weak in its power to give meaning to their lives.”

Social Realism in Photography:Dorothea Lange

“Migrant Mother” Dorothea Lange 1936

“Migrant Family in Refugee Camp” Dorothea Lange

“Polk County, Oregon” Dorothea Lange 1939

“Migrant Mother (Alternative)” Dorothea Dix 1936

Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera

• Style Influences – Cubism– Post Impressionism

• Paul Cézanne

– Italian Renaissance Fresco Painters– Aztecs – Frieda Kahlo

“Young Man in Gray Sweater (Jacques Lipchitz)” Diego River 1914

Diego Rivera

• Influences– Mexican Revolution– Working Class– Indigenous people– Aztecs– Russian Revolution (communism)

Diego Rivera

• Style– Fresco– Narrative– Lineal– Vibrant colors– Simple shapes

“Retrato de Ignacio Sanchez” Diego Rivera 1927

“Flower Festival Feast of Santa Anita” Diego Rivera 1931

“The Flower Carrier” Diego Rivera 1935

“Agrarian Leader Zapata” Diego Rivera 1931

“Mural Palacio Nacional” Diego Rivera, Mexico City

“Mural Palacio Nacional” Diego Rivera, Mexico City

“Mural Palacio Nacional” Diego Rivera, Mexico City

”Detroit Industry” Diego Rivera 1932-33

”Detroit Industry” Diego Rivera 1932-33

“Man at the Crossroads” Diego Rivera 1933-34

“Man, Controller of the Universe” Diego Rivera 1934

Conclusion

• Inspired by events and conditions of the time.

• Showing everyday routines and conditions

• Social issues of the poor and working class

• Political statements